Cover Story
Trump unpopular south of the border
Mexican people had some choice words for “The Donald.”
Week Ahead: Events for the week of Monday, August 22
Members of the Rochester City Council, Rochester school board, and County Legislature will hold a special meeting today, Monday, August 22, to discuss recent changes to the schools modernization project. The Rochester Joint Schools and Construction Board voted against a proposed project labor agreement for Phase II of the $1.3 billion project to modernize city…
Film review: “Hell or High Water”
Two down-on-their luck brothers turn to small-time bank robbing in order to secure enough money to keep themselves afloat in “Hell or High Water,” British director David Mackenzie’s excellent modern Texas noir. In debt and facing foreclosure on their family ranch, Toby (Chris Pine) and his reckless ex-con brother, Tanner (Ben Foster), see their crimes…
Film review: “Our Little Sister”
From Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda (“After Life,” “Still Walking”) comes “Our Little Sister,” a sweet, sensitive family drama based on the popular manga “Umimachi Diary,” by Akimi Yoshida. The story revolves around the lives of three sisters: responsible, motherly Sachi (Haruka Ayase), fun-loving Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa), and oddball Chika (Kaho), living together in their grandmother’s…
Teens lead tour of the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood
Rochester has a variety of neighborhoods full of history and art. And on Friday, August 19, 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., you can get a unique look at one of them at the Historical Urban Art Walking Tour in the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood. (There was a tour kickoff on Thursday, August 18.) The tour,…
Is Funke green enough?
For the first time, Republican State Senator Rich Funke has won the endorsement of the New York League of Conservation Voters. The statewide environmental group says that Funke is a valuable ally in Albany, despite the fact that the senator is silent on climate change. The endorsement is a big get, even though Funke may…
Cowpunk isn’t enough to explain Wyatt Coin
Now I’m not saying the members of Wyatt Coin are liars, it’s just that they’re not entirely what they claim to be … they’re much more. What comes across as an outlaw country-meets-hardcore aesthetic does so in spirit and not cliché. You would be hard-pressed to tag them as country or punk. Yes, there’s some…
Politics creeps into schools overhaul
Mayor Lovely Warren has repeatedly said that she would not pursue mayoral control of the city’s school system. But she scored a major victory last week concerning control of the Rochester Joint Schools Construction Board and the $1.3 billion project to overhaul the city’s aging school buildings. Former mayor Tom Richards, who was appointed in…
New York power policy, practices at odds
New York’s energy system is making a complex, tense, and urgent shift away from fossil fuels toward cleaner, renewable sources of power. That’s the official line, anyway. And the shift is supposed to accelerate over the next few years. A new state policy requires utilities to get half of their electricity from renewables such as…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Behind the Sky”
Jon Irabagon “Behind the Sky” Irabbagast Records jonirabagon.com In saxophonist Jon Irabagon’s brief notes about the inspiration for his excellent new album, “Behind the Sky,” he speaks of the grieving process and the variety of emotions that accompany it. You can certainly feel the intense pain in his mournful solo on the ballad “Music Box…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Strange World”
Sharon Coates “Strange World” Self-released sharoncoates.bandcamp.com Some artistic types have an itch to express what’s inside with whatever is their chosen medium. Sharon Coates must have a rash as she requires multiple disciplines: musician, glass artist, landscape artist. Her new CD, “Strange World,” is kind of a landscaped affair with its big room and bigger…
‘Good Hair’ exhibit unravels identity and politics
Although her primary training is in art bookmaking, recent Genesee Center resident artist Amanda Chestnut has branched out to a variety of media to hit her points in her most recent body of work. Her compact show, “Good Hair,” includes photographic and letterpress prints, mixed media art books, and other objects, and treads the waters…
SPECIAL EVENT | East End City Celebration
East End City Celebration is wrapping up the summer with one more downtown party. Similar to its other celebrations during the summer, there will be one stage with performances by Sophistafunk — indie, funk, hip-hop out of Syracuse — and local groups Subsoil and Upward Groove. A variety of food and beer trucks will be…
FESTIVAL | Arts at the Gardens
The Arts at the Gardens festival is back in Canandaigua with more than 100 artists from across the country showcasing and selling their work, including ceramics, digital art, fiber, glass, jewelry, painting, wood, and more. Live performances will take place near the wine and beer tents, featuring Jackson Cavalier, Tahlia Cott, Ryan Johnson Project, Music…
FESTIVAL | 19th Amendment Celebration
The Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood Association and 540WMain will team up to host a celebration for the 96th anniversary of the 19th amendment’s ratification, granting women the right to vote in the US. Throughout the weekend, the festival will offer a variety of activities, including voter registration and updates with the League of Women Voters,…
ART | Portfolio Showcase 2016
Through September 4, Image City Photography Gallery (722 University Avenue) will host its annual “Portfolio Showcase” exhibition, in partnership with Lumiere Photo, Kodak, and Rowe Photo. This year’s submissions were juried by RIT professors Howard LeVant and Alan Singer. This year’s selected photographers are Amanda Bellucco Chatham, Steve Malloy Desormeaux, Alexandra Latypova, Stephanie Albanese, David…
SPECIAL EVENT | Flour City Brewers Fest
The Flour City Brewers Fest will take over the Rochester Public Market for an evening filled with craft beer, cider, wine, live music, and grub from some of Rochester’s favorite food trucks like Le Petit Poutine and Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ. Selections from more than 50 breweries will be available, including local brews from Three Heads,…
ROCK | Collective Soul
If fans were afraid that Ed Roland’s Sweet Tea Project would mark his departure from Collective Soul, they needn’t be. The band is still tearing up the highway, touring with the Goo Goo Dolls this summer. And with seven number one rock hits to its credit, the band clearly knows what it’s doing. Emerging from…
Merchants Wood Fired Pizza has potential to be a North Winton Village anchor
The location has the ghosts of three previous restaurants hanging around. But the new pizza business could carve out a niche for itself among Rochester neighborhood restaurants.
Feedback 8/17
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. Our choices…
Urban Action 8/17
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Events focus on race Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library will hold a series of public events this fall: “Conversations on Race” and “Conversations on Race with Poverty.” The conversations are…
Debut Novel Series 2016 selections announced
Writers & Books today announced the selections for its annual Debut Novel Series. This year, the literary organization has arranged for both authors to visit Rochester simultaneously on November 3 and 4, when Garth Greenwell and Hannah Tennant-Moore will partake in a number of joint readings, discussions, and signings. Each of the featured books are…
A modest little proposal for revitalizing downtown
Where a company has its corporate headquarters makes a statement about that company and how it views its community.
CLASSICAL/JAZZ | Jennifer Bellor
If you want to hear the gorgeously ethereal music of Jennifer Bellor, I’d suggest going to the intersection of classical music and jazz. Bellor, a formidable soprano, earned her Ph.D. in music composition at the Eastman School of Music in 2013, and since then, she’s been performing internationally and winning major awards. At the Bop…
JAM | Elephant Wrecking Ball
More like a wrecking crew … this is the sound of controlled, booty-shakin’ weightlessness. At Elephant Wrecking Ball’s core is the solid drum and bass component. Trombone, dripping in effects, is the band’s invitation to join it in space. Featuring former members of John Brown’s Body, Dopapod, and R.A.Q, this is a band rooted in…
ROCK | Sianvar
Guitarist Will Swan and his main band, post-hardcore whiz kids Dance Gavin Dance, are known for musical talent far beyond most bands in their genre. Sianvar is another Swan project, and you’ll get a whole new set of vibes from this one. The band — Swan on guitar; Donovan Melero, vocals; Sergio Medina, guitar; Joseph…
FOLK | Old-Time Fiddlers’ Fair
The fiddlers will not be on the roofs this weekend at Genesee Country Village and Museum, but they will be everywhere else on the grounds, joined by other musicians playing dulcimers, harps, guitars, and other stringed instruments. The GCVM’s traditional Old-Time Fiddlers’ Fair takes place all day Saturday and Sunday this weekend. You can hear…
SPECIAL EVENT | An Evening of Southwest Music
Native American traditions meet new expressions in a cultural concert of Southwestern music and dance, taking place Wednesday evening at Ganondagan’s Seneca Art and Culture Center. The award-winning duo of singer and flutist Shelley Morningsong and her husband, dancer and storyteller Fabian Fontenelle, will present a tapestry of songs, dances, and stories of a Zuni…
FESTIVAL | The Purple Pig Festival
Joseph Schenk purchased Odd Fellows Farm, just outside of Naples, a few years ago with the intent to create a music venue (and events space) in the hills of the Finger Lakes region, and launched The Purple Pig Festival as the farm’s annual event. The festival — named after a wild bar once located in…
